Rob Ford's Toronto

[CalgarianExOntarian]

Again - if you watch The Wire, it makes total sense.

[...]

With all that up in the air, I don't know how any outside party can say what the police SHOULD have done is tried to take Ford down on relatively superficial and minor charges.

Blair does have to explain it all, but not yet.

I understand your argument, and I think it's good, but I'm not totally persuaded. For TPS behaviour to make sense, there has to be a BIG chance that Rob Ford (or maybe Doug Ford) can be convicted of something SERIOUS.

This is a quote from today's lengthy Star story ...

Recent revelations, including an apparent admission by Ford of drinking and driving, have raised questions about what police knew and what they were or weren’t doing about the mayor’s potential drinking and driving.

The surveillance team, one source said, was under strict instructions to “box in” the mayor if they suspected he had been drinking. Some had nightmares about a drunk-driving mayor killing an 8-year-old while under police watch.

I have no inside info at all, but from a distance it seems like TPS was (is still?) running a major risk of some innocent people dying because they were waiting to find evidence that they might or might not ever get.

 

[Peepers]

Agreed. People are directing their outrage against Blair under the assumption that he alone was running this operation against Ford and making these decisions. But I've seen multiple articles acknowledge that he was working closely with the Attorney General's office. So it seems to me that there's a bigger plan at work here and surely these decisions were not his alone.

The Attorney General's office does not direct police investigations. They evaluate evidence collected by police and decide if charges are warranted.

The buck stops with Bill Blair. If he was not directly involved in overseeing this crucial investigation he should have been. As noted in the Clayton Ruby article Blair is already trying to escape responsibility by saying all decisions were made at lower levels. This is the same b.s. Blair shoveled out after the G20 . Supposedly he was not involved in any of the G20 "operational decisions" either. Why do we pay this smug faced bully almost $400,000 a year if he never takes responsibility for anything?

 

[CalgarianExOntarian]

LOL! Thanks for pointing that out. I don't know why people think that I am Warmington. He only writes one sentence paragraphs.

Blaming the cops for investigating Ford's criminal activity, equivocating Ford's behaviour while massively condemning others for isolated incidents, trying to play both sides at the same time. But yeah, you're more articulate than Warmo.

Heh. Seems possible that a media pro is capable of using one style for Sun readers and another for UT readers.

 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

I understand your argument, and I think it's good, but I'm not totally persuaded. For TPS behaviour to make sense, there has to be a BIG chance that Rob Ford (or maybe Doug Ford) can be convicted of something SERIOUS.

This is a quote from today's lengthy Star story ...

I have no inside info at all, but from a distance it seems like TPS was (is still?) running a major risk of some innocent people dying because they were waiting to find evidence that they might or might not ever get.

Yes, I agreed the DUIs are harder to justify letting go by than the apparent drug buys. but it's also not clear they actually did that. After the Sunnybrook BBQ, for example, they were trying to find him (apparently) and didn't until he was back at the hotel. Still, Blair should, at an appropriate time, explain why they would have allowed him to drive drunk in that situation. The good news is he never did hit anyone or anything...he seems to have the drunk driving down to a science.

As you point out, the million dollar question is whether they are going to hang something serious on Rob. Lord knows there are plenty of conspiracies around here. Personally, I think he obviously got Lisi started on the extortion. I doubt he ordered a hit on Anthony Smith or anything that nefarious, but I also don't think he had no clue who Smith was, as he's claimed. Once we know the endgame, we can assess whether the TPS did the right thing here.

In the meantime, I think we have to remember they were running a major operation that the mayor bumbled into. You can understand why they treaded lightly, even if they didn't know how far down the rabbit hole it was all going to go. They didn't bring in Gary Giroux and hire a plane in the hopes they could catch the Mayor and Lisi making a purchase. Whether the found something better...time will tell.

 

[Peepers]

And you thought the Toronto Star was undeniably pro Bill Blair.

This is an op-ed by Clayton Ruby although I must admit I am surprised that they published it. I suspect the Star will follow-up with a full-throated defense of Blair by their editorial board or Rosie DiManno

 

[Les Nessman]

has no one watched Goodfellas!

police surveillance is not for the little stuff!

why would the courts release Lisi on $5000 bail........to his parents! Seems extremely easy that he got out!

Can you SEE the game at play here? Who thinks surveillance has stopped? Who thinks TPS is telling us or the Star everything?

Don't get your panties in a knot everyone

OH, forgot to add..... why has Dougie gone silent! I mean seriously, nothing from him since he stated that DecoLabels is under surveillance and steroid boy is not training Robbie! Do your google diligence for steroid boy's business- the younger ford's bodybuilding- nutritional supplements.

I miss him...sniff sniff!

 

[zang]

Just chiming in to note that the U.S. Deco plants are located in... Chicago and New Jersey.

The Jersey plant is gone.

http://www.decolabels.com/locations.htm

 

[SunriseChampion]

I'm fairly certain the Chief Blair knows exactly what he's doing. I have full confidence in the TPS.

That's coming from someone who's been wrongfully arrested, wrongfully searched, and been boot fucked by TPS constables. As in, I don't have a pleasant record with them. And no, I'm not a criminal.

 

[CalgarianExOntarian]

has no one watched Goodfellas!

police surveillance is not for the little stuff!

why would the courts release Lisi on $5000 bail........to his parents! Seems extremely easy that he got out!

Can you SEE the game at play here? Who thinks surveillance has stopped? Who thinks TPS is telling us or the Star everything?

Don't get your panties in a knot everyone

I get it, but my panties are still in a knot (metaphorically, of course, what the hell are you thinking?) over the DUI issues. I have no problem over the Sunnybrook to Grand Hotel ride--in responding to a 911 call, TPS would be looking for a needle in a haystack. But there must have been so many other drunken and/or coked-up rides over the last several months. No doubt Rob's alcohol tolerance lets him get through traffic semi-safely in a state where most of us would pass out, but really, there was, and perhaps continues to be, potential for the worst RoFo headline ever: Escalade Crushes 8-Year Old. (Or 80-year-old, or any age in between.)

 

[the lemur]

Can't you also tap a burner phone? I saw this on the Wire a few days ago haha.

I'm not sure about tapping a specific cell number, but given how closely the cops seemed to be tracking Lisi, they could have used a 3G or LTE scanner when they were nearby.

 

[CalgarianExOntarian]

I'm fairly certain the Chief Blair knows exactly what he's doing. I have full confidence in the TPS.

That's coming from someone who's been wrongfully arrested, wrongfully searched, and been boot fucked by TPS constables. As in, I don't have a pleasant record with them. And no, I'm not a criminal.

Wow, that's a thoughtful and fair-minded comment. But don't you think that while unlike the Fords, TPS are not evil and stupid, they might be intelligent, well-intentioned, hard-working, and nevertheless failing to make good decisions?

 

[evvabeing]

The Jersey plant is gone.

http://www.decolabels.com/locations.htm

but it's mentioned as a location in the globe & mail article the other day, and in other news articles earlier this month. i wonder what's up with that.

can't remember if this was highlighted already, so in case it wasn't, from that globe & mail article...

In 2010, when The Globe and Mail profiled the newly elected mayor, an industry publication showed Deco’s annual sales were about $29-million. Since then, a Toronto Life profile of Rob Ford put that figure at $100-million, a number that one industry insider said seems quite high.

 

[Expatriot]

... I am Warmington.

Jeepers, Peepers - thanks for admitting it!

 

[cutlass]

For real Peepers? I guess it makes sense!

 

[Les Nessman]

I get it, but my panties are still in a knot (metaphorically, of course, what the hell are you thinking?) over the DUI issues. I have no problem over the Sunnybrook to Grand Hotel ride--in responding to a 911 call, TPS would be looking for a needle in a haystack. But there must have been so many other drunken and/or coked-up rides over the last several months. No doubt Rob's alcohol tolerance lets him get through traffic semi-safely in a state where most of us would pass out, but really, there was, and perhaps continues to be, potential for the worst RoFo headline ever: Escalade Crushes 8-Year Old. (Or 80-year-old, or any age in between.)

see my edited post.

Yes, the potential dui is troubling! no argument!

But I've watched first hand police chase maneuvers at close quarters, on an early sunday morning on the QEW- 427. They are good...high speed chase tactics within 1-3 feet car behind car. Had no idea what was going on until I saw the box in maneuver.....they were practising I guess when the queen visited some years ago.

I'll give TPS credit here. We don't know their surveillance tactics and how much they can actually do without anyone knowing!